This thesis aims to demonstrate the construction of masculinity in Grail romances, investigating the manner in which models of masculinity are created in relation to other models and the discourse of the masculine with the feminine, referring to studies in gender undertaken by Simon Grant and Sarah Kay. An important notion that is assumed at the opening of this study is the supposition that the hero of a romance represents the ideal model of masculinity, and it is this supposition I examine in this thesis. The investigation into the construction of masculinity necessitates an examination of the evolution of chivalry, evaluating the influence of theologians such as John of Salisbury, the manifestation of the Church’s view of chivalry in the Grail texts and its importance in creating an ideology of chivalry. This is the starting point from where an assessment of the construction of masculinity can begin, firstly by a study of the discourse of the ideal model of masculinity with a similar model, a case in which like is compared with like, incorporating a discussion of friendship derived from the Ciceronian model and that of Aelred of Rievalux through which is developed the notion of perfection in an individual inspiring other individuals leading on to the Girardian concept of the mimesis of desire as a mechanism by which the ideal model is imitated by similar models. Contrast is another means of the construction of the masculine ideal and the first point of call in the creation of the ideal model of masculinity is the interactions of the masculine with the feminine. These interactions serve the promotion of masculine subjectivity at the expense of the feminine and the interaction further bonds between the masculine that lead to imitation of the model by rendering an alternative model of masculinity identical to that of the hero, or the ideal model.